Mermaid's Tale
by whiblarat
Summary: AU. A little mermaid has saved a human prince from drowning, she seeks a way to be near him. And she does find one. Will this bring her happiness? Who is this mysterious man, that catches her attention all the time? And that strange dream?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters. Mashima Hiro-sama does.

**A/N:** Since I love GaLe so much, and there were not enough stories about them to satisfy me, I decided to write my own one and to share it with people here. This is my first attempt at Fan Fiction and in English too, so it's far from perfect, but I still love it. As for the story itself, there were no mermaid stories yet! Must correct that! Ah, must warn you, my grammar and punctuation is pretty bad, so there will be some mistakes. But I'll try my best to improve.

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><p><em>Prologue<em>

**A Distant Memory.**

**Past:**

It was dark. Natural occurrence for this part of the day. But usually there was a soft silver light, that helped the poor creatures, used to life in daylight, that were so unfortunate to get lost at night. However, moonlight couldn't reach this place. Only the very surface was graced with it's mysterious shine.

The ocean was pitch black at night. The water was cold, not freezing, but still chilling. During night-time all colourful fishes hid in their homes. Their time of the day was over. It was predator's turn to roam the depths of the ocean. They didn't need light to sense their pray. No-one in their right mind would even think about going for a swim at this time.

A small lithe body was sliding trough water with amazing speed. Not feeling the chill, not wavering for a second. The creature seemed to not feel even a bit of fear.

It was a mermaid. A very young one. It was just a child. The poor dear got lost, she was away from home at such hour for a reason. But lets not dwell on that right now. It is a tale for later.

Little mermaid's tail was covered with dark green scales. They would glitter beautifully in light, but there was none. Her shoulder length blue hair was flowing freely behind her, it is underwater, after all. The big brown eyes weren't bothered by lack of light. All mermaids could sense their surrounding area very precisely.

The girl was in an unfamiliar territory. Strangely, she has not yet sensed even one living creature around. It relieved her, there were no predator sharks near, but it worried her at the same time.

Sharks were the most fearsome bloodthirsty beasts of the ocean. They were kings among predators, especially great white sharks. Other marine animals feared them the most. Except...

This child's mother once told her about even more dangerous creatures. Those lucky (or unlucky) enough to encounter them were just a few. Even fewer got trough alive to tell about it. Most didn't believe them, but our young mermaid was smart enough to consider it a possibility.

Mermen were mostly... home and peace loving creatures. They thought of adventures and exploring as too dangerous and unnecessary. The blue haired mermaid thought otherwise. She thought her people were just scared, or plain stupid. But, we'll keep the details for another time.

Suddenly, she sensed something. Something very dangerous. The girl was scared, paralyzed with fear. She was in the wrong place, instincts screamed for her to get out of there and fast! But her limbs and mind were frozen.

The water around her moved, as the unfamiliar beast swam around the mermaid in circles. From what she could sense, it was huge, and long. Like a water snake, which she saw near the surface one day. Only much bigger and more threatening.

The snakelike creature stopped circling her. Its head was right in front of the girl. In the darkness she could only see two blood colored eyes with slitted dark pupils.

"A dragon!" was the little mermaid's last thought, before she lost consciousness.

**Present: **

She woke up with a start. "That dream again... or a memory?"

The same mermaid, only older already, stretched on her bed. It was a big pearl clam. The girl had this dream for a long time. She could not remember, if it was real, or just her overactive imagination was playing tricks on her.

But it felt real... if it was, then why she couldn't remember what happened after?

**Past:**

Deep under the ocean a huge cave system lies. It's a place only a few strangers know about, and they were smart enough to avoid it. It is the dragons den. A whole clan of dragons lives here. This happened a long time ago...

The dragons had one leader, who was the strongest among them. His name was Metalicana. Everyone obeyed him, but he knew, that there were those, who wished him death. Those who wanted to get their claws on his neck, and take the status away from him.

But he would never let them. He had a family to protect. He cared for them deeply, but rarely showed his feelings and seemed rather harsh to them. It was hard to be the leader, a leader must not show softness, and he didn't. He taught his son to act the same, because he would be the next leader someday.

Metalicana was hunting at night, as usual, when he sensed something strange nearby. It was so tiny. He swam towards it, his black scaly body slicing trough the water. He circled the foreign being a few times and stopped to take a better look at it.

"Ah, a mermaid, still a child."

The dragon felt her fear. She looked him in the eyes and fainted. Black dragon wondered if he should leave her like this. He was cruel sometimes, but he wouldn't attack such an innocent being.

"What, in the name of Neptune, is she doing in a place like this? Mermen usually don't leave their own territory." Metalicana mused.

He carefully held the child with his paw and was deep in thought. Otherwise he would have noticed another approaching dragon.

"Hey, old man, whats wrong?"

A much smaller and younger dragon showed up in front of him.

"What is that? It doesn't even look edible." Stated Metalicanas son, while watching the thing in the older dragons paw with his crimson eyes, identical to his fathers.

"It's a mermaid, you foolish boy! Has the thought of studying ever crossed your tiny brain?"

"Hey, don't insult me! You're just smart because you're old! Well... she's kinda cute. What are ya going to do with her?"

Metalicana was a bit shocked after hearing his son's words. Not only did he call the mermaid cute, but a "she" as well. And the way he was watching her... this... couldn't be what he thought it was, could it? If so, then he could never leave this girl like this.

The big dragon signet. "You'll take her home."

"What? But how, the bloody shark, should i know where it is? I cant carry something this fragile! And what do i tell her parents? Hello, I'm a big bad dragon, I've come to bring your daughter back! " the younger dragon was panicking.

Well, that was an unusual sight to see. Suddenly, the little mermaid stirred. She opened her eyes slowly, still in a daze. She took in her surroundings with her senses. The girl stiffened.

There were two dragons beside her now. The huge one from before was holding her small body in his claws. It didn't hurt, so the mermaid didn't panic. The other one was smaller, still a kid, like her.

The said dragon was staring at her. She felt strangely attracted to this creature. She felt no fear towards him at all. A smile tugged on her lips and she reached out her tiny hand to touch his nose.

Both dragons were slightly shocked at this.

"Wha?"

"Hello!" said the girl "Wanna be friends?" she giggled lightly.

"Are all mershrimps this crazy? What if it's contagious?"

Metalicanas son didn't know why he was acting so rude. He felt weird around this tiny shrimp. Her smile made him all fuzzy inside. And her hand felt warmer, then it should have.

Was he sick, or something? Allergic to mermaids maybe?

"I wanna mommy..." the source of his discomfort complained.

Pearly tears started to form on the corners of her eyes.

"Okay, okay! I'll take you home, just don't cry!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, yeah." grumbled the dragon.

Metalicana was watching with amusement. This girl was so brave, how unusual.

"Dad, where do i take her to? And how?"

The little mermaid reached her hands towards his son. The leader showed him how to hold her carefully and told him where to go. And the kids took off.

Ocean currents were quite strong. One without enough strength or experience would surely be doomed the moment they got into one of those. Others have learned to use the ocean "winds" to their advantage.

The swim didn't take too long, with young dragons speed and the use of nearby current. It was like a highway for marine animals.

The tiny shrimp was chatting away happily. She fascinated him. He even answered some of her questions. It was actually fun to talk to her. She was very smart for her age.

He finally got to the Mermen Kingdom. The dragon couldn't afford to be caught, so he left the girl just a bit farther from the kingdom borders. He was going to swim away, when he heard her say:

"Will I see you again?"

"Maybe..."

**Present:**

He opened his eyes and stared at the sealing. This dream again. The memory of the tiny shrimp. It all happened so long ago.

When his life had been so easy. Before he lost almost everything dear to him. Before he had to take too much responsibility for a kid his age. Before he became so cruel, so lonely.

"Maybe..."

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><p><strong><span>AN:** It may not look like it, but it will eventually look more like 'The Little Mermaid', but only a part of it. For what I have in mind, there should be a lot of other characters. The relations between them won't be as in the anime/manga (I'm just evil like that). Also, I'm sorry, but no NaLu. I just don't like them together, and will be impossible in this story, unless, you want Lucy to be a pedophile . And I were never able to write visual descriptions (almost got no visual imagination) so I describe everything more in a 'feelings and senses' way. And happy ending is guaranteed! (Unless I drop this story =_=" but I hope not)

Anyway, help me improve my writing skills by reading and reviewing~ Constructive criticism, suggestions, opinions are all welcome. (But no tomatoes and furniture please, spare the poor things.)

Sincerely yours,

whiblarat


	2. Chapter 1

** Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters. Mashima Hiro-sama does.

** A/N:**Took me long enough, but here it is. Hope you like it.

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><p><em>Chapter One<em>

**The Mermen Kingdom.**

Our story takes place in the sea near the country of Fiore. But that name only applies to the land above the sea. The land inhabited by human kind.

Unknown to most humans, another kingdom could be found in the depths of the sea. The Mermen Kingdom, inhabited by merfolk and different kinds of marine animals.

Mermen are half human half fish in appearance. They live far longer lives then humans do, there were even some who reached the age of 300. Merpeople can understand most living creatures languages. For that reason, they are strictly vegetarian. Their food consists mainly of seaweed.

Merpeople live in the ruins of an old city, a long gone civilization. Some items were still intact, and are used by merpeople. Merfolk like adventures, but only if someone else told about them. They like to collect rare stuff, but only if they found it somewhere near home, or someone else brought it to them.

Basically, they were cowardly and preferred to have a calm life home. They had their own writing system, some mermen collected stories of adventures from different creatures and wrote them down in stone tablets.

Of course, they had a king. A wise old merman, by the name of Makarov, ruled the kingdom. He had no children of his own, but he accepted those poor souls, that, for some reason, lost their parents, as his own.

He raised two girls and a boy. His oldest daughter Juvia, was a kind and quiet girl. She rarely shoved her real emotions to anyone, so the king was very worried about this child. She lost her parents at a very young age. They were eaten by a couple of sharks right before her eyes. It had a huge impact on her character. She was likely afraid to get attached to anyone, in fear of loosing them too.

Next there was his son Loki. Makarov sure wasn't worried about that boys social skills. He was a total ladies' man, to tell the truth. His mother was most likely at fault here. She was constantly surrounded by men. She died from an illness a long time ago. Loki still blamed himself for not being near her, when she passed away. They had an argument at that time, and the boy ran away from home. When he returned, she was already gone. Despite Loki's constant flirting with every pretty mermaid he sees, he had much stronger feelings towards one mermaid in particular. But she refused him every time he asked her out.

And last, but not the least, was Levy. Makarov took her in after her mother passed away from an injury. Her mother was one of those people, who liked collecting and writing down stories. She taught her daughter how to read and write in merman, and even human languages. Levy's mother often visited sunken shipwrecks, to look for items to collect. During one of those visits the woman accidentally got caught in some sort of trap. She barely got out of. Thankfully, there were no sharks nearby and she got home safely. But the injury was too great, and she soon passed away. The whereabouts of Levy's father and his identity were both unknown, so Makarov took the girl in.

She was a very smart girl. Her thirst for knowledge and adventures could not be satisfied. This worried Makarov a bit. The girl had read all of the merpeoples library books. And even some human written books, that she got from, Neptune knows, where. And she loved listening to stories. The king had a feeling, that this girl knew even more, then he did! And he was 120 years old!

But what concerned him more was the fact, that Levy did not like any of the men around. Not even a bit. She rejected any male, who approached her. And she wouldn't even give a reason for that. How was she going to get married? He didn't want his daughter to be alone for the rest of her life!

When he thought about it, none of his kids seemed to have any luck in finding partners. Mermen fell in love only once in their lifetime. Sure, they could have crushes, but only one real partner. That explained why he had no children.

His beloved one had gone missing a long time ago. But now was not the time to become nostalgic.

Today was an unusual day in mermen kingdom. A big celebration was planned due to a special occasion. It was the day, when one of the kings beloved daughters officially became an adult. It was her 18 birthday.

Makarov ordered everyone to prepare for the celebration a week before this, but they still managed to fall behind schedule somehow.

"So hard to find reliable servants these days..."

The king sighed. A serious looking catfish, with long whiskers that looked like a mustache, entered the throne room.

"Your Majesty, the celebration preparations are almost complete. We have only one problem..."

"What is it, Sebastian?"

"Ah, we can't find princess Levy anywhere."

"Children these days! Honestly, I'm getting too old for this! Have you checked the library?"

"Yes, sir."

"Her friends Lucy's house?"

"Yes, Majesty."

"Where in the seven seas could she be?"

Levy was at a most unlikely place for a mermaid to be in. She was at the surface. It was still daytime, so she hid herself behind a big rock. Our young mermaid was busy watching the shore.

There were some humans on the sandy beach. The blue haired mermaid had often watched them, during sneak outs like this one. Those people were so different from her, they walked on land with those weird limbs. They couldn't breath in water and were so clumsy in it too. But on dry land they weren't clumsy at all.

Right now those humans were playing some sort of game. Running and tossing some round object around.

The reason behind this 'spying' wasn't only out of curiosity. One of the humans in particular caught her attention. It was a young and very handsome man. He had short black hair, gorgeous dark eyes, toned and muscular body.

For some odd reason Levy loved black hair. That's why she didn't like any of the mermen. Mermen had hair in most possible colors, except black.

The girl watched the boy she had developed a crush on with dreamy eyes.

"Levy, we found you!"

"Levy, everyone at the palace are looking for you! Makarov is worried!"

Two fish heads showed up on both of mermaids sides. Those were her best friends Jet the angelfish and Droy the parrotfish. She knew them since she was a baby. They always played together, and when she became older, Jet and Droy helped her to fend off unwanted admirers.

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"N-nothing! Let's hurry to the palace!"

The mermaid casted one last glance at the people on the beach and dived under the water with a 'splash'.

"We noticed, that you seem to go to the surface often lately."

Great, now her friends were prying on her personal life. Not that she actually had a relationship with the guy. She didn't even know his name. But a girl could dream, right?

"I'm just curious, that's all."

That wasn't a lie, but wasn't the whole truth either. She hated lying. But she couldn't tell, that she had a crush on a human. It was an impossible relationship in their eyes. Levy believed there was a way! She just had to find it, that's all.

They finally reached her home. The royal family lived in the mostly intact building from the ruins. It had probably been a glorious temple a long time ago. Now it was a palace to mermen.

Three friends swam towards the throne room. On the way they met Lucy.

Lucy was a beautiful blond haired mermaid with brown eyes. Her long tail was covered in light blue scales. She was the same age as Levy. The blond was the only daughter in her family. Her mother passed away from an illness. Since then her father was acting cold and tended to busy himself with work. But Lucy didn't feel lonely since she met Levy, back when they were kids. She loved stories just as much as her best friend did. She even started to write her own novel.

"Levy, where were you? Everything is ready for the celebration!"

"I..."

The blue haired girl didn't have the chance to finish, when her brother appeared.

"Ah, there you are, sis. And what a pleasant surprise! Lady Lucy, I am so delighted to be blessed with your presence."

"Stop the nonsense, prince Loki. Princess Levy, let's proceed to the throne room."

Lucy tilted her head and swam away with the princess in tow. Loki was left speechless, rooted to the spot.

"Rejected once again, eh?"

"Try harder next time."

Wished the angelfish and the parrotfish and hurried after their beloved Levy.

"Ah, the princess has finally arrived. Let's start the celebration!"

Makarov added in a whisper:

" I'll talk with you later about your constant disappearances, young lady."

The party went on until night time. There were dances, singing, lots of presents, a huge feast and so on. Levy was very happy, but also very tired. After the party, her father confronted her in her room.

"Levy, dear, are you unhappy?"

"I am happy!"

"Then why are you always running off somewhere?"

"I just want to find some adventures, that's all."

"And here I was hoping you finally found a partner."

"Makarov! You know I don't l-like anyone like that! At least, not yet."

Levy blushed lightly and looked away.

"That's exactly why I am worried. You should have had some crushes by now. This is not normal."

"I am not having this conversation on my birthday. Please let me rest, father."

Makarov sighed and left the room. Levy wanted to cry. Nobody would ever understand her. She went straight to bed.

Early the next morning, our blue haired mermaid sneaked out of the palace and swam to the surface. She just didn't want to see anyone at the moment. She hid behind her favorite rock, just in case there were any humans around. But the coast was quiet.

Suddenly, she heard a loud 'splash' somewhere not too far away. Seems like something fell from a cliff. Levy felt excited. It could be something from humans! Like a rare item, or even a book! The mermaid swam to the place where she heard the splash.

There were bubbles on the surface, which meant, that something was sinking. The girl dived under the water. She caught the sinking thing and looked at it. Levy screamed. It was a human! She hurried to the surface. The man wasn't moving. Was he sleeping?

"Oh no, he's probably unconscious! I should get him to the shore."

The mermaid dragged the body on the dry sand. She crawled a bit further away from the sea water.

"He's still not waking up. Maybe I should wait."

Then she finally noticed, just who this human was. It was the guy she had a crush on! A perfect opportunity to take a closer look. The young woman was so engrossed in man's long dark eyelashes, that she didn't notice another fast approaching figure.

"What, the hell, are you doing, mershrimp?"

Levy squeaked. She saw a face of another human right in front of her. He was squatting before her.

His skin was tanned, his body was very muscular. The man had jet-black long hair that reached his waist. What amazed the girl the most was his face. He had dark, almost black eyes, a long nose, thin lips and a strong jawline. And then there were these weird gray accessories all over his face. On the chin, on both sides of his nose, in place of eyebrows and in the ears. She had the urge to touch them, but she was too scared.

"W-who are you?"

"Someone, who shouldn't be seeing you here. Haven't they taught you, that humans are dangerous, shrimp?"

"Stop calling me that! I have a name, you know."

"Now you're ready to give your name to a complete stranger. You really are dumb, shrimp."

"B-but I just saved this man!"

The other man looked at the body.

"And that is why isn't breathing?"

"He's... not? A-a! What do I do? What do I do!"

"Chill it."

The other man began rescue breathing mouth-to-mouth. After a few breaths, the unconscious man finally started coughing up water. Levy's face was beet red.

"W-why did you k-kiss him?"

"Idiot, I was saving his life. He's going to be fine now. As for you, scram, before he sees you."

"But..!"

"Go, or I'll make you."

"Pf, make me."

"You asked for it."

The man stood up and took the stubborn mermaid in his arms. He was very tall, she noted.

"Gi-hi-hi! Off you go!"

And he threw her as far as he could. It was far enough for her not to hit the bottom too hard.

"Why you! I hate you! You barbarian! The nerve!"

The mermaid fumed. She glared at the man a bit longer and swam away.

"No you don't." Smirked the man.

"Yo, prince Gray, you alive?"

He turned his attention back to the almost drowned man. He didn't like saving him, but he couldn't just let him die there. And what the hell was he doing in the water anyway?

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><p><strong>AN:**I screwed up the appearance part and the 'saving' too, but oh well... Gajeels eyes are black for a reason, not a mistake. And it isn't Gray/Levy. She doesn't know whats best for her, yet xD And (thanks to a kind reviewer for reminding me) why Gajeel is human here, I will tell later.

Reviews are welcome! Tell me what you think. Good/bad? And big thank you to those who reviewed last time~ Favs warmed my heart too!

Sincerely yours,

whiblarat


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters. Mashima Hiro-sama does.**  
><strong>**  
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**A\N: **Haven't been around for quite a while -_-" Sorry. this chapter is not as long as I wished, but i hope, that you'll still enjoy it.

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><p><em>Chapter Two<em>

**The Fishy Story.**

After returning home, Levy had been in a foul mood for several days. Her friends tried to find out the reason, or at least cheer her up, but she just ignored them. Jet and Droy were in panic, blaming themselves for not following Levy back then.

Also, since then the mermaid hasn't gone to the surface even once. Hasn't left her room even. She really didn't want to meet that rude jerk again. How dare he imply that she was stupid, call her names and after that just pick her up and throw into the water! The nerve!

When Levy cooled off a bit, she thought about the incident more and some questions arose. How did the stranger know she was a mermaid? Well, besides the obvious fish tail. Why wasn't he shocked by her appearance then? Was it normal for humans to lack any reaction at meeting a supposedly nonexistent mythical creature? She thought a human should at least be a bit scared or amazed at seeing her. How did he know that merfolk thought humans were dangerous? And what, in name of Neptune, were those shiny things on his face? Also, why wasn't she afraid of him in the least? What was that familiar feeling about that man? Surely she hasn't met him before. Right?

"Why am I even thinking about the jerk now, when I finally had the chance to see my crush up close?"

Levy sighed pitifully.

"Crush?"

Someone asked in a quiet voice.

Levy squeaked. She turned around to see her older sister standing (well, more like floating, but who cares about details.) near the entrance to her room. Her long blue hair, a few shades darker then Levy's, managed to look neat even underwater. Her skin was pale, dark blue eyes seemed to represent the ocean itself. The scales on her tail were the same color as her eyes. Juvia's face and voice were always lacking any emotions, except for gloominess.

"Oh, it's you, Juvia! You got me scared for a moment there."

"..Crush?"

Juvia repeated the question more firmly.

"Uh... Excuse me?"

Levy tried playing dumb.

"Should I tell father?"

Obviously, her plan failed.

"No, no, no! I beg you, don't!

Levy waved her hands frantically.

"I-I'll tell you, just... don't tell Makarov."

"Good."

The younger sister could swear she saw a twinkle of interest in Juvia's eyes. Could it be her imagination?

"Well, you see... Actually... That is, what I'm trying to say is..."

"Miss Levy."

"Fine! Ihaveacrushonahuman!"

Levy covered her blushing face with both hands.

"Sorry?"

Juvia raised one eyebrow slightly.

"I said, I think, that I have a crush on a human man. There, happy now?"

The younger mermaid waited for Juvia's reaction. She expected her to laugh, to accuse her of foolishness or to call for a doctor. But it never came. Levy definitely wasn't expecting what happened next.

Juvia's eyes suddenly became dreamy, her pale cheeks colored pink. She grabbed Levy's hands and whispered excitedly.

"Is that what they call 'forbidden love'?"

"Uh... I guess?"

"Then Miss Levy should definitely go for it! Juvia will support Miss Levy! Juvia won't tell father, promise! Will Miss Levy promise to tell Juvia everything in return?"

She stared at shell shocked Levy with expectant eyes.

Poor Levy never expected such an outburst from her usually quiet sister. It was probably the longest she talked to her ever! And she knew her since they were little! And not to mention, the first time Juvia showed so much emotion too. Levy was speechless, so she just nodded.

Juvia beamed. Levy almost fainted.

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><p>"Has Levy finally come out of her chamber?"<p>

Makarov had been worried for some time now. But he couldn't muster the courage to go and check on his rebellious daughter himself. It could be his fault for her foul mood lately. And the old merman knew best, how scary an unhappy mermaid could be. He shivered at the memory of his long lost beloved one on especially bad days. Some old wounds still seemed to hurt sometimes.

So instead of going himself, Makarov sent his other daughter to talk to Levy. He hoped, that women could solve the problem, whatever it was, and, perhaps, open up to each other a bit more. But an hour passed already, and he saw neither of them.

"I have sent Jet and Droy to check on the princesses, my Lord."

"Oh, what would I do without you, Sebastian!"

"Probably try to drown yourself in alcohol."

"What did you just say!?"

"I have said nothing, Sir. It must have been your imagination."

Suddenly, Jet and Droy showed up. They seemed to be almost in hysterics.

"Your Majesty! We can't find Princess Juvia and Princess Levy anywhere! They weren't in the castle, so we checked the garden and the surrounding area, but couldn't find them! And the royal guards haven't seen them leave either!"

"What if they were kidnapped by human fishermen!? Maybe they are being displayed and sold at the black market right now! What do we do?!"

"Stop right there! Boys, calm down. I'm sure they are here somewhere, so don't panic. And Droy, where did you get such crazy ideas from? Maybe you should become a storyteller, with that crazy imagination."

Makarov laughed it off, but deep inside he really hoped his own words were true.

"For now, let's just send some guards to search."

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><p>"Juvia, stop pushing me! We can't let them notice us!"<p>

Two young blue haired mermaids were hiding behind a rock. After agreeing to tell her sister all the details, she decided to take Juvia to the surface and, maybe, even get a glimpse on her crush. It happened so, that the man was indeed on the beach at the moment. Levy tried to calm down the overexcited Juvia, who was trying to get a better look. Who knows what would happen, if they were discovered! After her older sister finally agreed to act more careful, Levy let her peek from behind the rock. She shyly pointed at one of the moving figures on the beach. There were three people overall. Two of them were much shorter, then the man Levy pointed out. One of the short ones was crouching near the water, as if looking for something. Other two humans were running around wildly, presumably playing some sort of game, because distant cheerful voices could be heard.

"So... what do you think?"

Juvia didn't move from her spot and stayed quiet, so Levy decided to observe the humans a bit longer. She got so engrossed in this task, that she didn't notice Juvia turning to look at her. She did feel weird, as if someone was staring at her with evil intent. Levy looked around, but there wasn't anyone around, except for her older sister, who was still watching the shore.

"We should probably go back now, father may start looking for us."

"Yes."

"Let's go then."

Levy cast one last glance at her crush and dived under the waves. Juvia stared at the same man a moment longer and then soon followed.

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><p>"Graaaay! What are you spacing out for? Or are you so tired, that your brain stopped working? Haha! I'm not tired at all!"<p>

A panting five-year old boy with unusual pink hair shouted at his older self-proclaimed 'rival'.

"I've just had a weird feeling, like someone was staring at me, thats all. And you're barely standing, idiot!"

"Say what!? Want me to kick your naked butt to the moon!?"

"Kyaaa! Your Majesty, your clothes!"

A small girl screamed and covered her eyes. She had long dark blue, almost black, hair tied in two tails. She looked to be around the same age as the pink haired boy.

"When did I...!"

"Ga-ha-ha! You're so stupid!"

"Natsu! Come back here with my pants, you little punk!"

The little girl just sighed at their antics.

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><p>Levy was relaxing in her room, pondering about the new side of Juvia, probably no one else knows about. When suddenly her best friend Lucy burst into the room.<p>

"Levy!"

"Oh, for Kraken's sake! What's with you people and scaring me today!?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that I've got some really good story to tell you. I've heard it from a school of fish passing by our kingdom. You won't believe when you hear it!"

The blond was obviously overexcited. Blue haired mermaids curiosity was awakened.

"Tell me, tell meee!"

"So those fishes were swimming by my balcony this morning (Why would mermen need balconies? Who knows...) and one of them knocked my precious potted coral off of the ledge. So I got a little angry..."

"Knowing you, more like furious."

Levy giggled. 'Poor fish' she thought. The blond beauty may not look like it, but she could be scary, when angered. No one in their right mind would want to be on the receiving end of her fury.

Lucy blushed lightly and cleared her throat.

"Well, that's not the point. After the clumsy fish apologized, they offered to tell me an interesting story, since they know mermen like stuff like that..."

Lucy started telling the story with her best eerie voice.

**Fishes story:**

_One upon a time, in the deepest part of our sea, another kingdom flourished. Ancient tribe of octopus mermen lived there._ (A/N: didn't know how to call a merman with octopus tentacles instead of fish tail .)_ It is said, that they knew some sort of powerful magic, which eventually destroyed their civilization. Now both the kingdom and the ancient magic are forgotten. Or so everyone thought. Deep water fish sometimes see some weird lights in the remains of the ancient castle. And not the kind of light hunter fish give off to lure their prey, and definitely not sunlight. It is an unnatural light, it is dark, but still shines. None of the few who had seen it even considered getting a closer look. Not because of lack in curiosity, but of the fear that grasped their fishy souls. Rumors say, that the remaining souls of ancient kingdoms dwellers still can't rest in peace, and their magic isn't completely gone._

**Back with the mermaids:**

Silence hung in the room for a minute after Lucy has finished the tale. Levy had a stunned expression on her face, her mouth was open a little even. She released a breath she didn't notice she was holding.

"Wow. Lucy, that's amazing! I've always dreamed of hearing something like this! Isn't it exiting! I mean, imagine all the ancient treasures we could find! Or some writings in unknown language! Maybe I could even try to decipher it!"

'There she goes in her "Levy ramble"' Lucy smiled fondly at her inspired friend.

"We should definitely go there!"

The blue haired mermaid grabbed Lucy's shoulders and shook her lightly.

"Eh, what!? I understand your excitement, but we can't possibly go there! It's somewhere in the deepest part of the sea. I mean, we don't even know the exact location! We could get lost, and it's dangerous out there, not to mention, cold and dark!"

"I'll think of something, but we'll definitely go! And that's final, no objections."

"B-but what about your father!? He won't let us."

"I know various ways to sneak out. And we can take Jet and Droy with us, we'll be just fine!"

"Them being there doesn't make it any less dangerous... Maybe even more so..."

The blond mumbled miserably.

"Did you say something?"

"Who, me? Nope."

"I'll get everything ready by the day after tomorrow. But don't tell about this to anyone!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lucy hung her head dejected. She sure was in for something unforgettable. She hoped her first grand adventure wouldn't be her last.

* * *

><p><strong>A\N:<strong> Unfortunately, no Gajeel in this one. But he'll show up next time. In case you were wondering, Juvia's way of speaking at the start is her way to distance herself from others, it will change slightly later.

Reviews are welcome! If you have any questions\ notice some mistakes fell free to ask\ tell. Also tell me your opinion so far.

Sincerely yours,

whiblarat


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